Collected

Had a very rewarding email today. One photograph from the Portrait Series has been added to a prestigious private collection. Thanks very much Jim, it's an honor to be included.

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Hi Gerry,

To answer your question, I've been seriously collecting only a few years and my works include Nobuyoshi Araki (Colorscapes and Erotos), Albert Watson (Jack Nicholson/Smoke), Michael Eastman (Woman in Doorway Havana), Elliott Erwitt (California), Sebastiao Salgado (iceberg and Churchgate Station), Danny Lyon (several in the Conversations with the Dead (prison) series), Willy Ronis (Le Nu Provencal and Les Amoureaux), Alfred Eisenstaedt (Marilyn Monroe), Sid Avery (Newman and Woodward), Chim/David Seymour (Sophia Loren), Frank Horvat (Gare St. Lazare), and Marc  Riboud (Antique Dealers' Street Beijing).

As you can see, you are joining some great portraitists and brilliant photographers!

I'm looking forward to tracking your career. Don't get discouraged if you don't receive immediate acceptance by galleries (their owners usually follow their own personal tastes); follow your passion wherever it takes you, and constantly seek to improve both your eye and your craft. Jock Sturges's comments about that are right on. You've got both subject and the craftsmanship down, so refine the humanity that you obviously see in the people you photograph.I'm a designer and I find that having studied the masters in my field early on, as you are doing today, really helped me set my own standards of quality. I still get a charge every day doing my work and I've been doing it now for about 35 years. Passion about your work is not underrated! Good luck in Thailand. Your ideas about ladyboy portraits and Bangkok at night are great. I'm looking forward to seeing your portraits, whether they are in color or B&W (which obviously is my preference). Stay true to your heart and keep up the great work.--Jim